I purchased some beautiful loose eye shadows from Scaredy Cat Cosmetics and I couldn’t wait to swatch them! Their initial allure for me was their unique packaging — samples come in little trial vials with a stopper, which are packed. At 1/4 teaspoon per sample (versus the standard 1/8 tsp of most indies) and at 5 for $5 or 10 for $10, Scaredy Cat offers some of the best value for sample sizes from indie companies. A full size eyeshadow has 3.5 g for $5 and sports really gorgeous label art.

USPS gave me a lot of trouble for this delivery: for some reason they claimed to be unable to deliver my package to my address, and returned it to the sender. I wrote to the owner, Kelly, and she was prompt to contact USPS to figure out what was going on. In the end, she sent me a replacement.

Since this is the first time I’ve purchased from Scaredy Cat, I just went with my gut and picked based on swatch colors and shadow names (I’ll admit it — Don’t Be Koi was a huge hit with me because I love puns). I was pleased to find that the loose eyeshadow formula is smooth and vibrant, and every color applied beautifully. When buying samples, I’m usually ready for a couple of disappointments, whether it is in application or color, but I have to say I’m happy with everything I got today.

I’ve read that some people find the trial vial hard to use because they are so very tiny. I have a few small brushes, the small smudge brush and the small precision brush, both from e.l.f., that reach into the bottles just fine. The most annoying thing is probably finding a hygienic way to put the stopper down while you are using the vial (I do some fancy fingerwork and turn it upside down so that the part that goes inside the bottle doesn’t touch the counter). While I always depot my sample baggies into 3 g jars, I won’t be doing that this time because the vials are so unique.

Happy New Year!! My first post in 2015 is on some products that I’m really happy about.

OH MY GOD I was excited for this order, but Ten Three Labs has exceeded my expectations! I ordered the Rocky Blogger Sample Show, which includes 1 salve stick and 4 smudge sticks. I asked Cara, the owner of Ten Three Labs, for any Hunger Games samples if she’s got some left over. She sent me THREE FULL SIZE shadows instead! Incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever leave indie makeup now.

The order also came with some candy and a snap bracelet. Remember those? Helloooo my 90s childhood! Everything is shrink wrapped, which I appreciate (PRO TIP: don’t be a dummy like me and rip off the shrink wrap on the salve/smudge sticks all the way. Its perforated at the top so you can just take off the cap part and keep the rest protected).

Cara of Ten Three Labs is really amazing with customer service. I emailed her with a concern about the salve stick, and she responded within the hour! I’m also impressed with Ten Three Labs’ TAT, especially during the holiday season.

I’m so psyched that these shadows were thrown in as freebies; I still can’t believe it since they’re all full sized. The names of these shadows hit me right in the feels, especially Real and Not Real (OH MY GOD PEETA BABY!). I think Ash On Leather comes from this quote, from Mockingjay:

“I stare down at my shoes, watching as a fine layer of ash settles on the worn leather.”

All shadows are swatched with Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer on the right and bare on the left. In my opinion, the pigmentation is pretty good even without the primer (especially Ash On Leather), although the staying power is much better with.

From top to bottom: Ash On Leather, Real, Not Real

NOT REAL

“I need tissue. I can’t deal.”

Ethereal white with multicolored shifts. Lip safe, contains glitter!

The glitter in this is very subtle, and the color as a whole definitely feels ethereal, like fairy dust.

REAL

“Right in the feels, man.”

Dark brown base with a green shift. Lip safe!

On me, the ‘green shift’ is really noticeable, lending a camo green feeling.

ASH ON LEATHER

“No spoilers here since this is from the very first page. Wait. Maybe spoilers if you haven’t read Mockingjay yet. Okay, I will avoid spoilers somehow. But Katniss walking around spoilers and looking around at spoilers, the ash on leather remark stuck with me.”

Blackened gray.

Whoops. I guess I spoiled it already 😛 BUT it’s the first sentence from the first page so… please forgive me. Ash On Leather is even more beautiful in person, because the camera fails to capture the full spectrum of shimmer. To me, the shimmer is primarily green-blue-purple.

SALVE STICK

Salve sticks are lip balms, and they are made with avocado oil and mango seed butter. I have very dry lips and most lip balms don’t cut it for me (yes, I have tried them all). So far, the salve stick is smooth without being oily and tacky. I find the texture of the salve stick unlike any other lip balm, and I really love it. There is a little tingling from the mint on application, which goes away quickly. There is a slight graininess (which I think is from the way different oils cool; e.g. Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy and Julep Luxe Lip is like this too), but this goes away immediately after being warmed up on the lips. I emailed Cara about this, and she said that it’s due to the temperature fluctuations during shipping, and is not harmful.

If my lips are already peeling, then the salve stick doesn’t really help (unlike the Clarins HydraQuench Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm, which makes lip peelies go away), but it doesn’t exacerbate it either (damn you Burt’s Bees!). Out of everything I received, salve sticks are what I want to get more of immediately, to make sure I always have one handy!

Gingerbread Haus has a light sweet Gingerbread scent with a touch of peppermint. This scent was part of the 2014 Holiday Limited Editions.

Smudge sticks have the same base formula as salve sticks, but are tinted. With the ones I got, especially Nice List and La Maison Derriere, they were so pigmented that I think they are more like lipsticks. Because the smudge sticks are in a moisturizing base, they feel great on the lips, but their wear time is short, and with some formulas, may get patchy over time (for me, Naughty List did this).

Nice List and Naughty List are part of the holiday collection, and La Maison Derriere is a Simpsons reference. Cara says that the main collection of smudge sticks, including Princess, will be phased out on January 15 so that they can focus on the limited edition collections, so I’m glad I grabbed it now.

I like the oval shaped tube because it keeps it from tumbling around my desk, but I had a hard time applying these properly because of the oval shape. I’m getting better with practice. I actually don’t recommend using a lip brush with these. The formula has a lot of slip for moisture, and when I tried using a brush the colors were just pushed around but not spread evenly. With the non-sparkly colors, I found that they actually make a nice matte lip after blotting.

All the smudge sticks are swatched straight out of the tube, with two coats.

PRINCESS

Peach with gold flecks, peach flavored

Because this one is not opaque, there is a noticeable difference between top and bottom lip. I wish the base color was stronger so that it would look less like a gloss and more like a lipstick.

NICE LIST

Coral red

This is a great everyday color for me, mellow but cheery. It actually has pretty good coverage, even with just one coat.

LA MAISON DERRIERE

Put the spring back in Springfield while wearing this dark vampy color!

The Simpsons episode that it references is hilarious, and wearing this color definitely makes me feel a little burlesque-risque. This is my favourite color of all the smudge sticks! It takes two coats to get even and opaque. This tube was actually overfilled (more product, whoop). In the swatch picture, it looks patchy because the tube was overfilled so not flat on the top like the others. I promise that with two coats it looks perfect on the lips.

NAUGHTY LIST

Deep violet with a red sheen

I found that on me, Naughty List actually shows up closer to black. This one is really hard to get an even color on, even after applying a few coats with a brush. Because of it’s moisturizing formula, it seems to slip a lot, and it’s very noticeable because of the color. It also makes any cracks and chapping more noticeable. I think it looks better after blotting, but then it looks a little grey and loses its sheen. I’m a little disappointed in this one, but I think I have finicky lips, so YMMV.

This was my first ever purchase from Ten Three Labs, but it won’t be my last!

Performance Colors is an indie makeup brand that many people love for their super saturated and nondrying lipsticks. They also sell eye colors (pressed, cream, and pencil), pressed foundation, pressed blush, and cream concealer. I decided to go with the tried-and-true and placed an all lipstick order. Their lipsticks come in two types, restorative and matte, and there is a HUGE range of colors. I had a hard time narrowing down to what I wanted! Not every color on their Etsy store has a lip swatch though, which would have been helpful, as the colors in the tube look darker than they do when swatched.

My order came in two separate baggies, each with a label about the type of lipstick they are, with ingredient lists. I received a sample of Vertigo, in a little clamshell. I appreciate how nicely labeled everything is!

Overall, these lipsticks are true lipsticks and not tinted lip balms. They are super pigmented and both formulas have pretty good staying power, even through drinking and eating. Lipsticks feel nice and smooth. Every color I got stained the lips in a nice way that doesn’t settle into cracks. They also do well with added lip balm underneath or on top of the color, if you have dry lips like me and would like a little extra moisture.

Ordered on December 21, 2014

Shipped on December 26, 2014

Received on December 29, 2014.

TAT was really great during the holiday season, and the price was right too! Performance Colors offers a pack of three lipsticks for the price of two ($12), and on top of that if you spend $20 they will throw in a free lipstick! I also used a 10% Reddit discount, and in total I paid $21.60 plus shipping. Tiffany was a great communicator too, and responded to my question about stacking the discounts within a day.

RESTORATIVE

From top to bottom: Zombie Bride, Lovepoem, South of France, Orchid. Swatched by swiping out of the tube.

Feels like a balm, looks like lipstick

While these lipsticks do feel like a balm, I wouldn’t say that they are restorative in the way a balm is, especially in comparison to a tinted lip balm like the Ten Three Labs smudge sticks. Each has a pearlescent sheen, and of the four colors I got, Zombie Bride and South of France are the shiniest. I was a little iffy about Zombie Bride because it is such a dark color in the tube, but I picked it up because everyone who raves about Performance Colors seem to adore it. They were right! It’s a very unique vampy color and I was impressed by the full dark plum base with blue shimmer, plus, it leaves a beautiful stain. My favourite restorative color of the bunch is Orchid, it goes on as a pinkish lavender that gives a ‘fresh’ look.

MATTE

From top to bottom: Vertigo, Hibiscus, Neon Flamingo, Pink Choco. Swatched by swiping out of the tube, except for the sample of Vertigo, which was swatched with a finger.

As you can see in the picture, the matte lipsticks are more opaque than the restorative formula. Vertigo and Neon Flamingo took two swipes to reach opacity, and Hibiscus and Pink Choco only took one swipe. I found Neon Flamingo to be difficult to apply properly, because one coat looks patchy and is not quite opaque, but two coats can look a little heavy. I definitely had to blot it to make it look right. Hibiscus and Pink Choco however, are amazing. Easy to apply evenly, and Pink Choco is a fantastic MLBB color.

These matte lipsticks live up to their claim of not being drying, but because of that there is a slight sheen to these lipsticks due to moisture. As they dry the sheen goes away and the lipstick becomes truly matte. Although they are not drying, they are not as moist as the restorative formula.